Pindrop Study Finds Nearly Half of Americans Would Be Likely to Use
Voice Recognition as a Form of Personal Verification

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pindrop®,
the pioneer in voice security and authentication, today released the
results of their survey, conducted online by Harris Poll in November
2017 among over 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18+, investigating consumer
sentiment around the security of voice interactions as a form of
personal verification, finding the vast majority (81%) believe there are
benefits to using voice recognition as a form of personal verification.
Not only do 81% find benefits, nearly half of Americans (48%) said they
would be likely to use voice recognition as a form of personal
verification.

The study also assessed consumer engagement with financial institutions,
retailers, healthcare providers and other major omnichannel
organizations. Findings indicate that roughly half of Americans
contacted financial service companies (49%), healthcare companies (59%),
insurance companies (54%), and telco companies (60%), via phone with a
customer service inquiry in the last 12 months. About one in ten
Americans contacted healthcare companies (15%), insurance companies (9%)
and financial service companies (11%) via phone more than five times per
year.

Consumer Frustration

Consumers may be dissatisfied with current verification methods used to
protect their personal information. More than one in four Americans who
have accessed an account at a healthcare company (28%) or TV/telecom
company (27%) by phone expressed frustration with their experience.
Among those who have found it difficult to access their accounts* by
phone, burdensome requirements to answer numerous identity verification
questions is the cause of this difficulty for over one quarter of them
(28%). Additionally, nearly one in five (18%) have found it difficult
because they forgot the answers to their security questions and were
locked out of their accounts.

“We are ushering in a new era of passive voice authentication that will
create opportunities for brands to interact with their customers,” said
Scott Rose, SVP of Product, Pindrop. “As consumers go beyond their
phones and increase interactions with voice activated devices, it is
crucial not to confuse personalization with security and identification.”

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt Abound

One key finding in the study highlights that roughly four out of five
Americans (81%) believe there are benefits to using voice recognition as
a form of personal verification. However, concerns remain as 94% believe
there are drawbacks to this process. The top reasons for concern include:

61%: May not work well because of background noise (channel
independence)

60%: May not work accurately every time (low EER)

48%: Voice can be cloned and used against them (voice spoofing)

43%: May have difficulty recognizing accents

39%: May not be secure

36%: Requires you to speak loudly and clearly (channel independence)

31%: Lack of info on how voice as personal verification works

“In January, Pindrop released the first-of-its-kind Deep Voice™
biometric engine that is able to recognize a consumer by their voice,
even with short command-like utterances in a passive manner,” Rose said.
“Pindrop® Labs first looked at the limitations of current
voice biometrics and specifically designed a voice biometric engine, in
a deep neural architecture, that addresses the top consumer concerns
such as channel independence, the emerging threat of voice synthesis and
accuracy rates.”

Methodology

This survey was conducted online, within the United States, by Harris
Poll on behalf of Pindrop from November 13-15, 2017 among 3,345 U.S.
adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a
probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling
error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including
weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact pr@pindrop.com.

Pindrop® solutions are leading the way to the future of voice by
establishing the standard for identity, security and trust for every
voice interaction. Pindrop solutions protect some of the biggest banks,
insurers, and retailers in the world using patented technology that
extracts an unrivaled amount of intelligence from every call and voice
encountered. Pindrop solutions help detect fraudsters and authenticate
callers, reducing fraud and operational costs, while improving customer
experience and protecting brand reputation. Pindrop, a privately held
company, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, was founded in 2011 and is
venture-backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Citi Ventures, Felicis Ventures,
CapitalG, GV, and IVP. For more information, please visit pindrop.com.